Unseen poetry - love through the ages Flashcards
AO5 - Plato
‘Poetry is nearer to vital truth than history’
AO5 - Edna Longley
‘Poetry is often very critical of the culture from which it emerges’
‘Poetry can bring out areas of denial and repression’
Context of the Renaissance period
French for ‘rebirth’, the Renaissance sought to revive the arts through increased diversity and an interest in Roman and Greek mythology
The Shakespearian sonnet was widely used as Shakespeare gained popularity
The Petrarchan Sonnet was founded in the 14th centaury
Machiavelli
Driven by humanism - a philosophy that emphasised the ability for humans to act, rather than the reliance on the will of God. Humanism first emerged in Florence, Italy
Political tensions between Catholics and Protestants - many Puritan groups sought to regulate forms of worship
New technology, such as the invention of the printing press widened literature’s audience. The English language became international and began to celebrate cultural strands
What is the time span of the Renaissance period?
1500s to 1650s
Features of Renaissance poetry
Promotion of humanity
A focus on irony and satire
New worlds
Rebirth and discovery
Emphasisation of order
‘hero narratives’
Greek/Roman ideals
Poets often used repetition to emphasise their themes
Common poetry forms of the Renaissance period
Sonnet (Petrarch and Shakespearian)
Lyric
Elegy
What is the time span of the Medieval period?
1400 to 1500
Context of the Medieval period
Poetry changed dramatically throughout England and Western Europe
Written for performance and storytelling, often with a regular cadence so it can be passed through audience members and throughout villages
Feudalism, religion and chivalry were great influences of Medieval literature
Features of Medieval poetry
Doomed lovers
Heroes and heroines
Myths
Monsters
Fighting for love
Imagination
Faith and religion
Medieval folklore
Chivalry and courtly love
Common forms of Medieval poetry
Epic
Lyric
Ballad
What was the time span of the Neoclassical period?
1700s to 1840s
Context of the Neoclassical period
Marked a return to the classic Roman and Greek conventions and ideologies of poetry
An Era of Enlightenment which emphasised logic and reason - a reaction against the romantic Renaissance style of poetry, an outcome of intellect rather than imagination
Neoclassical poets were all highly educated in various fields of studies, particularly on religious studies
Features of Neoclassical poetry
Logic and reason
Rationalism
Realism
Scholarly allusions
Sparse language
Use of allusions
Strict meter and rhyme
Heroic couplet – a pair or rhyming iambic pentameters
General public sphere
Strict meter and rhyme
Common forms of Neoclassical poetry
Fables
Satire and parody
What is the time span of Metaphysical poetry?
1600 to 1690
Features of Metaphysical poetry
Paradoxical imagery
Religious
Irony
Love and lust
Morality
Intelligent and witty
Strange imagery
Complicated thought
Philosophical and spiritual subjects
Subtle argument
Analogies
Colloquial dictation
Less strict meter
Metaphysical conceit (extended metaphors)
Common forms of Metaphysical poetry
The lyric
Context of Metaphysical poetry
The term was coined by the poet and critic Samuel Johnson who described a group of English lyric poets of the 17th century whose work was characterised by the use of conceit, guess and speculation about topics such as love and religion.
John Donne was one of the most influential metaphysical poets. His relationship with spirituality is at the centre of most his work and the psychological analysis and sexual realism of his work marked a dramatic departure from traditional verse. His early work was released in an era of religious oppression. His Holy Sonnets contain some of Donne’s most enduring poems was released shortly after his wife died in childbirth. Donne intensely grapples with concepts of divinity and morality.
Context of the Romantic period
Many scholars say the Romantic period began with the publication of ‘Lyrical Ballads’ by William Wordsworth and Samuel Coleridge in 1798
Instead of politics the Romantics turned to nature for self-fulfilment. Embracing the imagination and feeling, often through transcendental features. The movement counteracted the previously logical and rationalised Neoclassicism
Big focus on individualism and work often evaluated the backlash of industrialisation
An artistic movement
Common Romantic forms
The sonnet
Odes
Lyrical Ballads
Time span of the Romantic period
1780s to 1830s
Features of Romantic poetry
Celebration of nature
Radical idea of individual freedom and spirituality
Celebration of isolation and melancholy
Pathetic fallacy
Idealisation of women
Interest in the common man
Nature vs industry and civilisation
An influence of medieval poetry
Irrationality
Context of the Aestheticism and Decadent movement
Late victorian
Encouragement of experimentation
Authors held the view that art opposes “natural” forms of mortality. Decadent literature challenged the dominance of scientific thinking. This era shocked the Victorian establishment by challenging traditional values, foregrounding sensuality and promoting artistic, sexual and political experimentation.
Many Victorians passionately believed that literature and art played an ethical role in society, providing a guide to moral and correct behavior. However, the late Victorian Period challenged this.
‘Art for art’s sake’ coined by a French philospher in 1817
Time span of the Aestheticism and Decadent movement
1880s to 1900
